Today was a new day. Today was the day where your new journey began; it was the first day of a new chapter in your life. You set out on this journey with clear direction, goals in mind and ready to conquer, making sure to check your intention at the beginning of it all. This journey of yours, however, will stretch out for days, months, and even years. Throughout this time period, you met individuals, made some life-long friends, worked hard, dealt with more stress than you ever thought you could, learned how to master deadlines, achieved some goals and fell short of others, ventured out, explored, and did things you said you would never do.

Now, along the line somewhere, you got so caught up in all that was happening around you, became so overwhelmingly absorbed in the work that was now your life, and dropped your intention along the road soon after you had begun it. But what did it take for you to remember that you actually had forgotten about your intention? It was either a sudden or fearful turn of events that forced you to turn back to your Creator for help, or it could have simply been taking a short time out of the hustle and bustle of everyday life to simply reflect: Reflect on where you began, on where you’ve been, and how far you have come.

We often find ourselves falling into this exact trap. We begin with a good intention, but as soon as we walk out the door, we manage to leave it behind us on the steps.

Having an intention in the first place is vital. Many times, we forget to stop for a moment to clear our hearts and minds, and so we venture into things with baggage on our conscience. Having an intention forces us to examine our real reasons for doing something while at the same time getting good deeds if we do it for the sake of Allah (SWT).

In fact, intentions are so important to the degree that they govern our every action. Our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) reminds us:

"Verily, all actions are only judged by intentions, and every man gets what he intends for."

"What this hadith demonstrates first and foremost is the mercy of Allāh (SWT). The outcomes of many situations are often not in our hands. All we can do is make an intention and follow through with an effort, but we never know whether things will turn out as planned. However, this hadith proves that what matters to Allah (SWT) are our intentions, because that is the only real thing we have control over."

It is a line, a philosophy, which one must always bear in mind – every passing second of their life. It's an ongoing, lifelong process, one where we need to remember that even if others can't read our thoughts, Allah (SWT) always can.

The beauty of intentions is that it shows your true self. It is solely between only you and your Creator. Your intention can never be judged by another and no person can ever hold you accountable for it. So whenever you feel like your intention or purpose to do something is more for the people than it is to Allah (swt), you and only you can change it without anyone ever knowing about it.

Intention also does not know time. It can be renewed in whichever hour, minute, and second of the day that you are willing to renew or purify it. Once renewed, however, it opens the door for endless blessings and reward from Allah swt. It is literally like stepping from darkness into light. It adds clarity to that which you perform or speak, gives it a higher purpose and mission, and the reward is so great that only Allah knows it.

An intention doesn't have to be limited to only the religious realm. We may think that the "good, Islamic" intention should be reserved solely for when we perform Islamic work or acts of worship. However, it can and should, in fact, be applied and constantly renewed for the most mundane and minute of actions. That way, we can change any activity which has little value into something which would be considered ibadah. If we we are taking a shower, for instance, with the intention that "Purity is half of faith", it becomes a ibadah.If we brush our teeth thinking "This purifies the mouth and pleases the Lord", it is a means for earning reward. We should try and have intentions to do all thesein our day to day lives.

Insha'Allah this week, let us all strive to begin our every action, regardless of how big or small, with pure intentions. More importantly, let us also try to remind ourselves to renew our intentions continuously and consistently, so that we never lose sight of where we began and reap the best reward, insha'Allah.